Electric-railway switch



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

M. J. M. OHARA.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY SWITCH.

No. 587,752. Patented Aug. 10,1897.

Q i R R O R W-%R g i i I WITNESSES. INVENT R.

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UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

MATTHEXF J. M. OHARA, OF WILMINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC-RAILWAY SWITCH.

SPECIFICATIOX forming part of Letters Patent No. 587,752, dated August10, 1897,

Application filed March 27, 189'].

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LMATTHEW J. M. OHARA, a citizen of the United States,residing'at Wilmington, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth ofMassachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inElectric-Railway Switches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric-railway switches; and it consists inthe devices and combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

The object of this invention is to furnish a cheap, safe, and eifectiveswitch, not easily clogged, and which may be operated from the platformof the car.

In the accompanying drawings, on two sheets, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a part of a car provided with switch-operating trolleys,the trolleys being in a raised position; Fig. 2, a side elevation of anend portion of a car with a switch-operating trolley in operativeposition and an overhead trolley, showing the connection between saidtrolleys; Fig. 3,a front elevation of a portion of a car with thesupporting-rails and supplementary rails in vertical cross-section and aswitch-trolley on the supplementary rail; Fig. 4, a plan of the outerrail of a curve or bran ch, the corresponding main-line rail andtrolley-rail, the switchtongue and its supporting means, andelectromagnet; Fig. 5, a vertical cross-section on the line 5 5 in Fig.4,the switch-tongue being down to render the main line continuous; Fig.6,1ike Fig. 5, except that the switch-tongue is raised in Fig. 6; Fig.7, an inner side elevation of the switch-tongue and adjacent parts ofthe rails connected thereby with the magnets I and tongue supportingdevices; Fig. 8, a general plan of the invention, except the partscarried by the car, showing the electrical connection.

A A indicate the rails of the main line; B B, rails of the branch line;C, a switch tongue or point, one end of which turns on a horizontalpivot c, projecting inwardly from the adj acent main railA, and theother end of which is supported, when it is desired to make the branchcontinuous with the main line, on one or more bolts 0 0 connected by ayoke 0 said yoke being pivoted at c to the outer end of anarmature-lever m, which turns on a Serial No. 629,476. (No model.)

vertical stud m, supported on a bracket m which may be secured on themain-line rail A.

The armature-lever m is normally drawn away from the electromagnet M bya spring S, represented as a flat spring arranged between saidarmature-lever and said rail A to hold the bolts 0 0 under the free endof the switch-tongue O. The bolts c' 0 armaturelever m, and magnet M areprotected by a box D, preferably of metal, the bolts projecting throughthe side of said box toward the switch-tongue, as shown in Figs. 5 and6, and the rail A resting upon the top of the box. The tongue 0 is ofsuch depth and is so limited in its downward movement by a stopledge don the box D as not to allow said bolts to spring over saidswitch-tongue.

When the magnet M attracts the armaturelever m, the bolts are drawn outfrom under the switch-tongue O, which then falls into the position shownin Fig. 5 and rests upon said ledge cl,"disconnecting the branch fromthe main line.

The switch-tongue O is raised by the action of another magnet M, Fig. 7,on a bell-crank lever m the short arm m of which lever is provided withan armature and the long arm on of which bell-crank lever reaches undersaid switch-tongue, so that when the magnet M is energized said tongueis raised and the bolts 0 c are forced under the switch-tongue by thecontraction of the spring S. The nor mal position of the switch-tongueis shown in Fig. 5, the free end of the switch-tongue being supportedupon the ledge (Z to disconnect the branch from the main line.

Two short supplementary conducting rails or plates L'L are connected bythe line Z to the magnet M, and said magnet is connected by the line Zto a rail of the main line or to any other ground, said supplementaryrails being insulated from the ground. Two other insulated supplementaryconducting-rails L L are connected by the line Z to the magnet M, saidmagnet being-connected by another line Z to a rail of the branch line orto any other ground, Fig. 8.

The car E, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, is of any usual construction used in carsfor electric streetrailways, except as hereinafter stated,'beingprovided with axles e, flanged wheels e, plat- 0 p from falling.

forms 6 and dashers 6 The car carries a trolley T, supported on aconducting trolley-pole t, for the usual purpose of taking the electriccurrent from the overhead-trolley wire.

I use four switch-operating trolleys 11, each supported on a trolley-armP, turning on and insulated from the axle e, the insulation beingindicated at 1) in Figs. 2 and 3. Each pole or arm T is connected by aconductingwire Z to the trolley-pole t and trolley T, so

that when a trolley t runs over a supplementary rail a current'ofelectricity passes from the overhead-trolley wire through one of themagnets above described. The switchoperating trolleys p are so arrangedthat when lowered sufliciently each will strike one of the supplementaryrails, and if held down long enough will pass over a secondsupplementary rail, said trolleys p being at the same distance from thecar-wheels as the supplementary rails are from the wheel-supportingrails nearest to them, respectively.

There are as many lifting-rods p as there are switch-operating trolleys19, each liftingrod p being guided vertically in a loop 19 secured tothe front of the dasher e and each having a hook 19 which engages theupper surface of said loop when said lifting-rod is raised and preventsthe corresponding trolley The lifting-rods p are provided at their upperends with suitable han dles p When the car, moving to the left in Fig.8, approaches the branch B B and it is desired to run the car onto saidbranch, the motorman drops the switch-trolley p at his right at thefront of the car just before the car reaches the insulated supplementaryconducting-rail L, so that when said trolley 19 touches said rail L thecircuit is closed from the overhead-trolley wire through the trolley T,trolley-pole t, trolley-arm P, trolley 19, rail L, line I, magnet M toground, which raises the switch-tongue and causes the car to take .thebranch line. After the car has passed the switch the motorman allows thesame trolley 19 to remain down until it comes in contact with thesupplementary rail Z from which the current passes through the magnet Mto the ground, drawing the bolts 0 0 out from under the switch-tongue,allowing the switch-tongue to fall and disconnecting the branch B B fromthe main line A A.

When the car returns and it is desired to pass from the branch onto themain line, the motorman drops the trolley 19 at his right upon thesupplementary rail L closing the circuit through the magnet M andraising the switch-tongue, and the same trolley 19 after passing theswitch, coming in contact with the supplementary rail L, closes acircuit from the trolley-wire through the magnet M and drops theswitch-tongue. lVhen the car is moving in either direction wholly uponthe main line A A, no movement of the switch will be necessary unlessthe motorman on the car which last previously passed from the main lineonto the switch or from the switch onto the main line has carelesslyleft the switch-tongue in its raised position. If this should happen,the motorman who desires to pass the switch on the main line will dropthe trolley 19, which will strike the supplementary rail L or L justbefore reaching the switch.

The vertically movable switch tongue above described cannot be cloggedby sticks or rubbish, cannot catch any displaced part of the brakemechanism or the fender, carriage-wheels will pass freely over itwithout being caught and broken, and no guard-rail is required to beused with it. Said switch is therefore cheaper, less dangerous, and lesssaid tongue, an electromagnet and its armature, movable with said bolts,and a normally open electric circuit, in which said magnet is arrangedand by the closing of which said armature is attracted to draw saidbolts from under said tongue.

3. The combination of a railway main line, a branch line, aswitch-tongue, a horizontal pivot, on which said tongue is movablevertically, to connect and disconnect said main line and said branchline, a normally open electric circuit, an electromagnet, a lever,

provided with an armature adapted to be attracted by said magnet whensaid circuit is closed, to raise said tongue.

4. The combination of the main line and branch line of a railway, aswitch-tongue, a horizontal pivot on which said tongue is movablevertically, an electromagnet, its armature, bolts connected to saidarmature, a

spring, to draw said armature away from said magnet and to throw saidbolts under said tongue, when said tongue is raised, to connect saidmain line and said branch line, an open electric circuit including saidmagnet, a car for said railway, having atrolley, an electric conductorfor said trolley, and an electric-circuit closer carried by said car andelectrically connected with said trolley and adapted to connect saidconductor with said open circuit to energize said magnet and draw saidbolts from under said magnet,

5. The combination of the main line and V branch line of a railway, aswitch-tongue, a horizontal pivot on which said tongue is mov ablevertically an electromagnet, its armature, bolts connected to saidarmature, a spring, to draw said armature away from said tongue, anotheropen electric circuit including said last-named magnet and adapted to beelectrically connected with said trolley by said circuit-closer toconnect said branch line with said main line.

In witness whereof I have signed this specification, in the presence oftwo attesting Witnesses, this 22d day of March, A. D. 1897. MATTHEW J.M. OHARA. \Vitnesses:

ALBERT M. MOORE, GRACE E. HIBBERT.

